A look at the political power of young voters
President Barack Obama won 60 percent of the vote among those younger than 30, according to a new Pew report. While that was down six percentage points from 2008, Obama's youth support may have been an even more important factor in his victory this year than it was four years ago.
From the report:
In Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania, Obama also failed to win a majority of voters 30 and older. Yet he swept all four battleground states, in part because he won majorities of 60% or more among young voters.
Just as critically, young people made up as large a share of the overall electorate as they did in 2008, according to the national exit poll (19% in 2012, 18% in 2008). As recently as September, young voters were significantly less engaged in the campaign than they had been four years earlier. But their interest and engagement levels increased in the campaign's final weeks. In the Pew Research Center's final pre-election survey, as many registered voters under 30 said they were giving a lot of thought to the election as did so in the last weekend of the 2008 race.
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The youth vote has also been cited as a significant factor in numerous progressive ballot measures across the country, including the defeat of a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage here in Minnesota.
Now that young voters have shown themselves to be a serious political force, what do they want? Are the politicians willing to listen?
Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, will join The Daily Circuit Monday to discuss young voters. Andrew Friedson, advisor at Our Time, will also join the discussion.
Are you in your twenties? Tell us on Facebook what you want from the Obama administration.
